Category Archives: Australian food and drink

A study has been scathing about toddler foods in Australian supermarkets. Which products can parents trust?

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These 70 items meet WHO standards for nutrients such as protein and do not exceed limits for sugar, salt and fat, researchers say

Infant and toddler foods are a rapidly expanding market in Australia – but a study this week found none of the infant or toddler food products stocked in Australian supermarkets meet World Health Organization standards.

The entire category of toddler foods has been accused of being an unnecessary marketing exercise as nutritional guidelines say children do not require special foods once they are 12 months old and can eat the same as the rest of the family.

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Energy drinks with nine times as much caffeine as a can of Coca-Cola removed from Australian shelves

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Nearly 700 beverages with almost double the allowed maximum caffeine content seized from South Australian retailers

Hundreds of highly caffeinated beverages have been removed from shelves in a crackdown on potentially harmful energy drinks.

Beverages with almost double the maximum allowed caffeine content are among almost 700 drinks seized during inspections of more than 100 retailers in South Australia.

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Threatened species and chips? Other fish frequently sold as flake, Australian study finds

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Scalloped hammerhead and greeneye spurdog among at-risk shark discovered in genetic testing of fillets

One in 10 fillets of shark meat bought by Australians at fish and chip shops and markets – often labelled as flake – is from a threatened species, according to a study that has uncovered widespread mislabelling of shark sold to the public.

Nine of 91 fillets were found to be either scalloped hammerhead, greeneye spurdog or school shark – all considered threatened in Australia – after scientists at Macquarie University used DNA analysis to check what they were sold.

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Saint Peter: Sydney eatery that cooks ‘most fascinating parts’ of fish makes World’s 50 Best Restaurants long list

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Chef Josh Niland ‘quite emotional’ to learn his seafood spot named in extended list of restaurants ranked 51 to 100

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants has released its extended list – and the Sydney seafood spot Saint Peter has become the only Australian restaurant to make the cut, receiving praise for spearheading a movement.

In a tweet this week, World’s 50 Best described Josh Niland’s Saint Peter as a “ground-breaking” restaurant that “takes the great Australian seafood tradition to previously unexplored heights”.

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Kylie Kwong quits restaurant business, adding to growing list of high-profile eateries to close

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Sydney chef to close Lucky Kwong, saying she wants to focus on ‘sharing other people’s stories’

Kylie Kwong has announced she is quitting the restaurant business after 24 years as a restaurateur and will close her Sydney eatery Lucky Kwong in late June.

The news comes after other Sydney closures by high-profile chefs including the long-running fine-dining restaurant Tetsuya’s by Tetsuya Wakuda, and Fish Butchery and the takeaway shop Charcoal Fish by Josh and Julie Niland.

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Bill Granger: restaurateur remembered as ‘brilliant’ man who exported Australian food culture to the world

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The Australian cook and writer, who taught himself to cook, died peacefully at hospital in London on Christmas Day

Chefs and writers have taken to social media to remember Bill Granger as a “culinary legend” and “brilliant” person who exported Australian food culture to the world.

The Australian cook and restaurateur died at a hospital in London on Christmas Day, the family of the food writer confirmed on Instagram. He was 54.

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Bill Granger, renowned Australian cook, dies aged 54

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Globally successful restaurateur and food writer known as the ‘godfather of avocado toast’ dies peacefully in London

The Australian cook and restaurateur Bill Granger has died in London aged 54.

Fellow cooks, celebrities and lovers of his restaurants paid tribute after the family of the food writer confirmed on Instagram he had died peacefully in hospital on Christmas Day.

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‘Fantastic’ season means high-quality Australian prawns going cheap at Christmas

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Improvements in sustainable aquaculture and good weather conditions result in boon for consumers

Seafood lovers are in for a treat this Christmas with “an abundance” of prawns fuelling reduced prices and industry experts predicting no major cost hikes ahead for the festive season.

The Seafood Industry Australia chief executive, Veronica Papacosta, said Australia has two main prawn sectors – aquaculture prawns, and wild prawns – had both had “fantastic years”.

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Pink linen, bubbles and 14 ‘mirages’: AI ranked this Sydney bar most influential in the world – is it worth the hype?

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An elegant Rat Pack theme and constant clatter of shaking ice cubes proves a winning combination for Maybe Sammy

Remember Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown gyrating in sync, flicking rum bottles and iced glasses in the air before a throng of permed and adoring city slickers?

Well, this isn’t exactly like a scene from Cocktail – there’s not a single perm in central Sydney in 2023. But the rest of the Maybe Sammy experience? It’s got the moves.

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The pandemic pie peak has passed but we’re far from the demise of an Australian classic

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Consumption of meat pies has fallen back to pre-Covid levels, reflecting a return to normal patterns rather than a long-term crisis, experts say

One of Australia’s favourite foods, the meat pie, was reported to be an endangered species this past week, with headlines warning the “iconic” food was “dying out”, and reports citing falling sales. But reports of its death may be somewhat exaggerated.

While meat pie sales have dipped to their lowest levels since 2019, it could be a case of the nation recalibrating its pie-eating habits after Covid-19 lockdowns sent demand for frozen pies into overdrive.

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Restaurant Botanic in Adelaide named Australia’s restaurant of the year by Gourmet Traveller

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Chef Justin James combines native flavours and exotic botanics to create a 20-something-course menu

Adelaide’s Restaurant Botanic has won restaurant of the year at Gourmet Traveller’s annual awards night, which were announced in-person at a gala event on Tuesday, after being cancelled in 2020 and held online last year.

The restaurant, headed by chef Justin James and located in the middle of the South Australian capital’s botanic gardens, opened just 14 months ago after the gardens’ previous restaurant underwent a transformation. James uses plants from the surrounds, combining native flavours and more exotic botanics to create a 20-something-course menu that unfolds over at least four hours.

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Breakfast with Alice Zaslavsky: parsnip and potato latkes – recipe

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Just in time for Hanukkah, the In Praise of Veg author shares her crispy, golden latkes recipe, in celebration of all things fried

Alice Zaslavsky describes her parsnip and potato latkes as “like an edible plate”, but the lacy, crunchy, deep-golden latkes are wonderful even on their own. Once topped with creme fraiche, dill, finely sliced pickled beet or smoked salmon (and roe, if you’re feeling very fancy), they’re more than worthy of a little reverence.

Eating oily, fried foods is a tradition when it comes to celebrating Hanukkah, which begins on 28 November in 2021. Zaslavsky explains: “The reason we cook a lot of oily foods for Hanukkah is because we’re symbolising the [lamp] oil. It was supposed to only last an afternoon and it lasted for eight days, which are the eight days of Hanukkah. So we eat fried doughnuts, we eat fried latkes.

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Under the table: Australia’s dazzlingly diverse home cooking underground

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Social media and online marketplaces have facilitated a boom in Australian home cooking businesses – but many operate without regulation

During the Sydney lockdown I ordered from a different home cook every Friday night, for me and my neighbours. I discovered each cook from community groups or social media pages for migrant communities in Sydney – east African, Thai, English.

Sometimes the home cooks had a professional social media presence, a delivery provider, or even a website to order from; but often my lead was just a person’s name – I’d then have to find and befriend them on Facebook before asking about a food delivery for the following Friday. Some had menus, others just asked “what do you want?” and let me pick from the full range of their specialty cuisine.

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Fire-pit recipes: how to start a backyard blaze safely, and what to cook on it

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Wood-fire cooking isn’t just for sausages and marshmallows, Harry Fisher says, and lockdown is no excuse for not upping your campfire-cuisine game

Usually, plenty of Australians would be starting to make plans for summer camping trips about now. Others would already be on them, having escaped the southern states for long soirees north where winter is little more than a horror story told to scare kids at night.

A significant proportion of those people, though – and maybe you, reading this – are stuck at home dreaming of the warmth and crying into their beer while watching Netflix, thanks to ongoing lockdowns and border closures.

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‘Bro, I cooked it in a bloody airfryer’: is the unofficial appliance of lockdown just a tiny oven?

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Used to cook everything from racks of lamb to gummy worms, airfryers are a social media sensation – but food professionals are split on their utility

When the Sydney chef Dan Hong posted a video to his 104,000 Instagram followers of a lamb rack emerging from his home airfryer, its fat aureate and twinkling, the caption had a caveat: “Edit,” it read, “please don’t take this too seriously guys. It’s a lamb rack cooked in the air fryer ‍♂️ ‍♂️ ‍♂️”

“Some people were commenting ‘it’s undercooked’ or this or that you should’ve rendered the fat a bit more and it’s like, bro, I cooked it in a bloody airfryer,” Hong says.

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You’ve been warmed: 10 slow-bake recipes to keep you home

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As the cold weather takes hold, leverage the heat of your oven to stay cosy while cooking up a feast


With more of us spending time indoors during winter and while working from home, your oven can double up on duties: making dinner and warming your kitchen in the process. You don’t need a slow cooker when your oven can do all the work for you, from tender confit vegetables to a rich and luxurious custard.

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Ramadan night markets: Sydneysiders celebrate at Lakemba after sunset – photo essay

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From chips on a stick to camel burgers and kanafeh, crowds come to Lakemba’s annual street bazaar for the food and the energy

When the Canterbury Bankstown council announced it had cancelled the annual and extremely popular Ramadan night markets in Lakemba, there was disappointment all round.

The markets have grown to become a staple during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

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‘Everything tastes better’: Guardian readers on their culinary discoveries of 2020

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From turning up the heat with exotic chillies to the ubiquitous and ultimately rewarding rise of sourdough, readers share their ingredients of the year

Discovering – or rediscovering – the joy of cooking has been one of the few bright spots of a year spent largely at home. We asked 43 of Australia’s leading chefs, cookbook authors and bloggers to share their favourite ingredient of the year. Their answers ranged from the humble and comforting (flour, mince, red lentils) to ingeniously umami (kombu, chilli bean curd, prawn oil), with native Australian ingredients also making many a No 1 spot (wattleseed, karkalla, cunjim winyu).

Now it’s our readers’ turn to share their finds.

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